Snowy and Cold?

As if seeing snow wasn't shock enough, it's also cold out there today. Our high temperature will only eek up to about 37 this afternoon, with the wind making it feel much colder. However, today's cold isn't all that cold. The day should still end up a couple of degrees warmer than normal, extending our streak of warm weather to 32 days.

But let's get back to the snow. The official National Weather Service observer in Central Park saw snow at 9:55 a.m. this morning. That makes today the latest occurrence of the first winter snowfall in the park since records began more than a hundred years ago. The latest date of measurable snow, at least a tenth of an inch, is January 29th.

Perhaps even more remarkable than the lateness of the first snow, is that this snow originated over Lake Ontario. Cold air blowing swiftly over the lake, combined with an unstable air mass, managed to bring just enough moisture to survive the long trip to the big city. The lengths we have to go through to get snow this winter!

No snow tomorrow as it begins to warm up again. It should be sunny and in the mid-40s. Warming continues on Friday and possibly through the weekend. Right now Saturday and Sunday are also looking rainy.

Snow and sun photos by ianqui on Flickr.